Fettucine with Walnut Sage Butter Sauce

Another recipe that I saw on Lidia's Italy. It takes oh, approximately 10 minutes to make and is so good. As the pasta cooks you make the simple sauce which includes butter, chopped walnuts and chopped sage, that's it, maybe just a little salt and pepper and some of the pasta water after you have cooked it to al dente. You have no excuse for not making this meal any night of the week. I got the sage from my garden so it was bright and beautiful and fresh, but I assume you can use dried sage if that's what you have at home.

Fettucine with Walnut Sage Butter Sauce
I use all approximate measurements here, I just added what I had on hand.

1 lb fettucine (pasta cooked to al dente)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 cup chopped walnuts
10 fresh sage leaves sliced into ribbons
5-10 small sage leaves for garnish
Salt and pepper
grated Parmesan (optional)

While the pasta boils heat butter in a medium size sauce pan, over medium heat. When melted add the walnuts and sage ribbons and cook over medium-low heat until the past is cooked (about 7 minutes). When the pasta is al dente add pasta directly to the sauce in the pan. Add as much of the pasta water as you like to thin the sauce to coat all the pasta, (I added about a cup).

Serve with salt, pepper and grated Parmesan cheese.

Rating = So Damn Good

Baked Ziti with Ricotta Cheese (and Soy Sausage)

Mmm Mmm Mmm. I made this dish for H&G who just had a baby girl. Needless to say, they haven't been getting a lot of sleep, and don't have a lot of time to cook, with you know, the breast feeding appointment the baby has been making every two hours at cafe leche tits; so CB and I decided to make up some dinner and bring it to them. This was a big hit, super tasty, super filling, super comforting, and G who's a big meat eater didn't even notice that the sausage was soy based and not meat based.

I took this recipe and split it between two 8-inch square baking dishes; I cooked one half and froze other for another night. This recipe came from the America's Test Kitchen, Best Make Ahead Recipes cookbook. Again, I have yet to make a bad recipe from any of their publications. If you don't have one of their cookbooks, do yourself a favor, ask for one for Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanza, whatever you celebrate during the holiday season. These are such great resources to have in your kitchen. To know that a recipe will always come out great is a real comfort.

Baked Ziti with Ricotta and Sausage America's Test Kitchen
12 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
12 ounces whole milk mozzarella cheese shredded (about 3 cups)
3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 pounds ziti or other short tubular pasta
4 1/2 cups Marinara Sauce (I used the ATK Marinara Sauce I blogged here)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat.

2. Meanwhile, mix the ricotta cheese, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper together, set aside. In a separate bowl, toss the mozzarella, Parmesan together until combined; set side.

3. Add 1 1/2 tbsp salt and the pasta to the boiling water and cook stirring occasionally, until the pasta is just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta. Return the drained pasta to the pot and stir in the marinara sauce, remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, and the reserved pasta cooking water.

4. Pour half of the sauced pasta into a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Drop large spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture evenly over the pasta, then pour the remaining sauced pasta over the ricotta layer. Sprinkle the top of the ziti evenly with the mozzarella mixture.

5. TO STORE: Wrap the dish tightly with plastic wrap and then foil and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 1 month. (If frozen, the casserole must be thawed completely in the refrigerator, about 24 hours.)

6. TO SERVE: Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap and cover the dish with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with vegetable oil spray (or use nonstick foil). Bake until the sauce bubbles lightly around the edges, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese begins to brown in spots and the casserole is completely heated through, 25 to 30 minutes longer. Sprinkle with basil before serving.

TO SERVE RIGHT AWAY: After topping with mozzarella in step 4, bake the casserole in a 400 degree oven, uncovered, until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is browned, 25 to 35 minutes. Sprinklw with the basil before serving.

Rating = So God Damn Good

Marinara Sauce | America's Test Kitchen

Ok. I know. Marinara Sauce, I've been gone for a week and all you get from me is f'ing marinara sauce. But it's really good, I swear, some of the best marinara sauce to ever grace your lips, so shut up and try it.

Life's been busy to say the least, it seems that every time I turn around another one of my friends has just given birth to another kid. It's no wonder we as a world are facing a population crisis, people are copulating and reproducing like rabbits, I swear. Except for in Russia it seems because just a few weeks ago they had what can only be termed, a stay home and mate until you make a baby damn it day. It seems that the birth rate in Russia is dangerously low, I think it's actually in the negative territory as far as births versus deaths which just seems weird to me because its seems wherever I go there are a veritable shit ton of newborns surrounding me. Its like I'm in a weird caricature and there's me and then all around me there are these little babies, and then hoards of pregnant people and then all the baby accouterments. Its weird.

If I seem harsh I don't mean to be, it's just that when you are in your prime, and happily married people always assume that your next big step in life is to get pregnant, when, in reality, my next big step in life it to try to find enough time to sit the fuck down. I am running crazy everywhere everyday and I just want to sit down without feeling guilty about what I am not doing because I have decided to stop moving for one minute. The other day CB asked why I looked a little stressed out and my only reply was because I felt like it had been at least three months since I had sat down. Now I know that's being over dramatic, but that is how I feel, go go go until you can't go anymore or you have a stroke, and I'm not sure which one is going to come first, so I'm feeling a little stressed and stretched thin.

So, back to the origin of this conversation, the babies, no I don't want to have children, yes, I'm happy as shit for my friends who have just had them, or are pregnant or are trying to get pregnant, but I don't want to have kids, I don 't particularly like wiping my own ass, nevermind someone elses, so let's just leave it there for now. When I'm not so tired, and not in such a heightened state of stress I will explain my mindset and where my heart is in the whole family planning arena, but for now, just know, I'm happy for all the moms, but more happy that I'm not one. And I saw Knocked Up this weekend, and I never need to experience childbirth, ever. I think I'm pretty tough for running three marathons, and I'm sticking to that being the most pain I have ever felt, I don't really need to experience the whole crowning time that takes place during childbirth, no thank you maam.

Oh, wait, did you come here for a recipe and not a diatribe on childbirth, well, I aim to please. Here you go.

Marinara Sauce
2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes packed in juice
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion minced
salt
2 medium garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/3 cup dry red wine
ground black pepper
sugar
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil (for serving)

1. Pour tomatoes into strainer set over a large bowl. Using your hands, open the tomatoes and discard any fibrous cores, skins, seeds, being careful to keep the tomato meats whole; let the tomatoes drain for five minutes. Remove 3/4 cup pf the tomatoes from the strainer, set side in a small bowl. Reserve 2 1/2 cup of the tomato juice and discard the remainder of the juice.

2. Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat until simmering but not smoking. Add the onion and tbsp salt and cook until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and oregano and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Add the tomatoes from the strainer and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to stick to the bottom of the pan and a brown glaze forms around the pan edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook until thick and syrupy, about 1 minute. Add the reserved tomato juice and bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook stirring occasionally, until th sauce is thick 8 to 10 minutes.

4. Pulse the sauce with the reserved tomatoes in a food processor (or insert an immersion blender) until slightly chunky, about eight 2-second pulses. Return the sauce to the dutch oven, add the remaining 1 tbsp oil, and season with salt and pepper, and sugar to taste.

5. TO STORE: Let the sauce cool uncovered at room temperature for 45 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 2 days.

6. TO SERVE: Transfer the sauce to a medium saucepan, cover and warm over medium-low heat. Stir in the basil and season with salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Thin the sauce with pasta cooking water and extra virgin olive oil as needed when tossing it with the pasta.

Rating = So Damn Good

PS. This recipe can be stored in the freezer in an airtight container for 1 month.

Back from the land of - eh?

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. I had to go to Ottawa for work. I had never been, so I was excited to find a little bit of time to do some sightseeing on Tuesday. Another business development person from another company was there with me, so we decided to take the morning off and go tour Parliament. It was very neat, and amazingly beautiful. Here is one of the pictures of the inside of the building that I took while on the tour.

I have a lot of recipes piled up that I want to try, and I have a great marinara recipe that I will post tomorrow. Again, sorry for not posting for a few days, but I had absolutely no internet access while I was there.

JB

Maple Apple Cranberry Oatmeal Crisp

In the fall, nothing beats going to the farm and getting apples, apple cider donuts, hot cider, pumpkins etc. etc. Last weekend I went to Cider Hill Farm with my nana, mom, sister and niece, four generations of the same family bobbing around the apple orchard. It's amazing we didn't end up hucking apples at each others heads by the end of the trip, just kidding, it was a truly wonderful day.

By the time I got back to the City, it was late and dark, I parked my car, got out, and promptly dropped the whole half peck of apples that I bought at the farm onto the asphalt driveway where they proceeded to roll all over the place, under my car, under cars two rows down, toward the scary patch of weeds by the fence where I'm sure rats live although I've never seen one. Did I mention it was late, and dark? I scrambled to catch them before they all rolled into places unknown or inhabited by rats. My big beautiful red apples were now scratched and bruised. When I got in the house I told CB about my apple catastrophe in the parking lot. "I'm not eating any of those apples then" was his reply. Did I mention he's a bit of a neat freak and a germophobe? I figured the only way to make sure that he ate the apples was to first peel them, thus removing any part of the apple that came in contact with the dirty asphalt driveway, and then make something that smelled so delicious with them that he couldn't resist. This is the recipe that did the trick.

Maple Apple Cranberry Oatmeal Crisp

FILLING:
6 cups peeled thinly sliced apples (about 6-8 apples)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)
1/3 cup maples syrup
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

TOPPING:
1 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 c flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Lightly oil a glass 8-inch square glass baking dish (or 9-inch glass pie plate)

In a large bowl toss the apple slices together with the dried cranberries, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spread evenly in the baking dish.
Prepare topping by mixing the oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt together. Add the melted butter and stir until evenly moistened. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the fruit is tender.

Let stand for 20-30 minutes before serving.

Rating = So Damn Good

This recipe is part of the Apple A Day Event organized by swissfruit. I fully believe in the apple a day mantra. I myself try to eat at least on apple a day everyday. You should too.

Ricotta Gnocchi with Pesto Cream Sauce

I've wanted to try my hand at gnocchi for a long time now. The most recent issue of Cook's Illustrated had this recipe for ricotta gnocchi among it's pages and I took it as a sign for me to finally pop my gnocchi cherry so to speak. The recipe came with a few pan sauces, but I was in the mood to make pesto, so that's what I did. I'm sure I'll try the other pan sauces some other time, especially considering one calls for fresh sage, which I just happen to have a shit load of in my herb garden.

So first for the pesto I consulted one of my favorite blogs, simply recipes and used her pesto recipe which was just fabulous. I made a double batch, filled an ice cube tray with the extra sauce and froze it for use at a later date. The ice cube tray allows me to just use a few cubes at a time depending on how much I need. Very cool.

For the pesto cream sauce I used about a half cup of the pesto and heated it in a saucepan with about 3/4 of heavy cream, and just let it simmer until I was ready to add the gnocchi to it.

I then went on to making the ricotta gnocchi which was super easy, and as you can see by the picture, came out friggin awesome.

Ricotta Gnocchi - America's Test Kitchen
1 container whole-milk ricotta (15- or 16-ounce)
2 large slices white sandwich bread , crusts removed and bread torn into quarters
1 large egg
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour , plus additional for work surface
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)

1. FOR THE GNOCCHI: Line fine-mesh strainer set over deep container or bowl with 3 paper coffee filters or triple layer of paper towels. Place ricotta in lined strainer, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Meanwhile, process bread in food processor until finely ground, about 10 seconds. Spread crumbs on rimmed baking sheet and bake until dry and just beginning to turn golden, about 10 minutes, stirring once during baking time. Let cool to room temperature. (You should have about 1/2 cup crumbs.)

3. Transfer drained ricotta to food processor and pulse until curds break down into fine, grainy consistency, about eight 1-second pulses. Using rubber spatula, combine ricotta, egg, basil, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper in large bowl. Add flour, Parmesan, and bread crumbs; stir until well combined. Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes. Check texture of dough (see photos below) and add more flour if needed.

4. Lightly dust work surface with flour. With floured hands, roll lemon-sized piece of dough into 3/4-inch-thick rope, rolling from center of dough outward. Cut rope into 3/4-inch-long pieces and transfer to parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, dusting work surface with flour as needed.

5. TO COOK GNOCCHI: Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot or Dutch oven over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt. Reduce heat so water is simmering, then gently drop half of gnocchi into water and cook until all pieces float to surface. Continue to simmer until gnocchi are cooked through, about 2 minutes longer, adjusting heat to maintain gentle simmer. Using slotted spoon, scoop gnocchi from water, allowing excess water to drain from spoon; transfer gnocchi to skillet with sauce and cover to keep warm. Repeat cooking process with remaining gnocchi. Using rubber spatula, gently toss gnocchi with sauce until uniformly coated. Divide among warmed bowls or serving platter and serve immediately.

STEP BY STEP: Proper Dough Consistency
Gnocchi dough should be moist and slightly tacky to the touch. When the proper consistency is achieved, a few crumbs should stick to your finger. If the dough is too wet and a lot of crumbs stick to your finger, stir in additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Rating = So God Damn Good